By Cameron Teague Robinson, Seth Emerson, Austin Meek and Nicole Auerbach
The second College Football Playoff rankings for the 2023 season were announced Tuesday evening. Here’s what you need to know:
College Football Playoff Top 25
CFP Rk | team | Record | Previously | AP Rk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9-0 | 1 | 3 | |
2 | 9-0 | 2 | 1 | |
3 | 9-0 | 3 | 2 | |
4 | 9-0 | 4 | 4 | |
5 | 9-0 | 5 | 5 | |
6 | 8-1 | 6 | 6 | |
7 | 8-1 | 7 | 7 | |
8th | 8-1 | 8th | 8th | |
9 | 8-1 | 10 | 10 | |
10 | 8-1 | 11 | 9 | |
11 | 8-1 | 13 | 11 | |
12 | 7-2 | 16 | 12 | |
13 | 7-2 | 17 | 14 | |
14 | 7-2 | 12 | 16 | |
15 | 7-2 | 22 | 15 | |
16 | 7-2 | 21 | 19 | |
17 | 7-2 | 9 | 17 | |
18 | 7-2 | 18 | 13 | |
19 | 6-3 | 14 | 18 | |
20 | 7-3 | 15 | 22 | |
21 | 6-3 | NO | 23 | |
22 | 7-2 | NO | NO | |
23 | 8-1 | 24 | 20 | |
24 | 7-2 | NO | 24 | |
25 | 6-3 | 23 | NO |
Buckeyes retain top spot
Ohio State defended its top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings this week. After their debut at the helm, the Buckeyes went on the road and defeated Rutgers. While it wasn’t a resume-defining win, it was enough for the playoff committee to keep them at No. 1, although Georgia beat 14th-seeded Missouri on Saturday.
Overall, this doesn’t change much for Ohio State. They host Michigan State and Minnesota in the next two weeks and the goal is to avoid an upset before traveling to Ann Arbor to play Michigan on November 25th. If the Buckeyes can do that, they will control their own destiny in the College Football Playoff. Once again. — Cameron Teague Robinson, Ohio State football writer
How Georgia compares to Ohio State
There were some who thought the committee could use the win over Missouri — Georgia’s first against a now-ranked team — as an excuse to promote the Bulldogs, but it’s still just a ranked win against the two for Ohio State . Look further down the rankings: No. 9 Ole Miss is Georgia’s next opponent, with No. 13 Tennessee following. (After the Volunteers play Missouri.)
So if the Bulldogs win in the regular season, they will either move up to No. 1 or go into the SEC Championship as a solid No. 2 seed. And even if Georgia loses one of the next two – very likely – their record appears to be strong enough that a win in the SEC Championship would be enough to get in. Will it be interesting if the Bulldogs are 12-0 but lose the SEC? Championship? Yes, but that depends on what happens elsewhere in the country.
The bottom line is that Georgia’s schedule is slowly ceasing to be a problem. — Seth Emerson, Georgia football writer
Week 11 significance for Michigan
Unless it’s sign stealing, there’s not much to talk about with Michigan. The Wolverines defeated Purdue 41-13 to improve to 9-0 and remain at No. 3 in the rankings. Next week things will be much more interesting. If the Wolverines beat Penn State, they could have a reason to move up to No. 1 or No. 2.
If they lose, their chances of getting back into the top four will depend on whether they beat Ohio State at the end of the year and hope for help from other teams. This week is definitely a crossroads for Michigan’s season. —Austin Meek, Michigan football writer
Committee inconsistencies
The top eight teams from last week all won, and this week’s rankings have not changed significantly. The biggest question I had on Tuesday was whether or not Georgia could overtake Ohio State from the top spot now that the Bulldogs were coming off a top-15 win over Missouri. But it looks like the selection committee is waiting for another resume boost before moving the Dawgs up.
It’s a little frustrating to see the committee rely on resume to justify Ohio State at No. 1, but focus more on eyeballs for Georgia and Michigan, keeping them above Florida State and Washington. Why should the Huskies, who have the best win of all (No. 6 Oregon), be left out of the top four? It is an inconsistent logic of this committee. – Nicole Auerbach, senior college football writer
Required reading
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)